Save the Cat rankings

Ocean's Eleven script analysis

Ocean's Eleven script - Save the Cat beat sheet analysis

Danny Ocean, freshly paroled, immediately sets about assembling a crack team to pull off an audacious heist on three Las Vegas casinos owned by Terry Benedict. Along the way, he rekindles a relationship with Tess and overcomes multiple setbacks—including being temporarily cut from the plan—before boldly re-entering the vault. The finale culminates in a brilliantly executed caper and a return to incarceration, bookending the story.

85 Save the Cat fit score 30% analysis confidence / 163 parsed scenes

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1

Opening Image

Scene 1 / Page 1 / 1% target

30%

Danny’s parole board interview establishes his recent imprisonment and frames his desire for freedom.

As you say, ma'am, I was never charged.
2

Theme Stated

Scene 10 / Page 10 / 5% target

25%

Danny’s line about never leaving the state hints at themes of confinement and risk beyond boundaries.

No, sir, I wouldn't even think of leaving the state.
3

Set-Up

Scenes 1-3 / Pages 1-3 / 10% target

30%

Scenes 1–3 show Danny’s release, parole conditions, and first gambles in a casino, setting his goal to return to a life of crime.

4

Catalyst

Scene 8 / Page 8 / 12% target

30%

Danny’s chance encounter with Frank Catton at the blackjack table propels him toward assembling a heist crew.

5

Debate

Scenes 10-11 / Pages 10-11 / 20% target

30%

Danny and Frank debate the feasibility of robbing a casino under parole constraints.

6

Break into Two

Scene 19 / Page 19 / 25% target

30%

Danny formally pitches the Bellagio vault heist to Rusty, committing to Act Two.

The vault at the Bellagio.
7

B Story

Scene 68 / Page 68 / 30% target

30%

Danny’s confrontation with Tess brings in the emotional subplot and personal stakes.

You're thirty seconds late. I was about to send out a search party... Danny...
8

Fun and Games

Scenes 31-57 / Pages 31-57 / 40% target

30%

Montage of recruiting each specialist—Frank, the Malloys, Livingston, Basher, Yen, Saul, Linus—and planning the caper.

9

Midpoint

Scene 30 / Page 30 / 50% target

30%

Convincing Reuben Tishkoff to join by targeting Benedict’s casinos raises the stakes and splits the plan from possibility to reality.

Those are Terry Benedict's casinos.
10

Bad Guys Close In

Scene 62 / Page 62 / 65% target

30%

Rusty and Linus surveil Benedict’s habits, while spotting Tess underscores external and internal pressures closing in.

As I said: a machine.
11

All Is Lost

Scene 98 / Page 98 / 75% target

30%

Danny is red-flagged at the casino and kicked off the job, appearing to doom the heist.

12

Dark Night of the Soul

Scene 102 / Page 102 / 80% target

30%

Rusty’s decision to remove Danny forces him to confront his own worth and attachment to Tess.

13

Break into Three

Scene 110 / Page 110 / 85% target

30%

Danny secretly rejoins Linus in the elevator, marking his bold transition into Act Three.

You didn't really think I was gonna sit this one out, did you?
14

Finale

Scenes 123-150 / Pages 123-150 / 95% target

30%

From the blackout to the vault elevator through the SWAT-disguised exit, the crew executes the heist with precision and tension.

15

Final Image

Scene 163 / Page 163 / 99% target

30%

Danny’s re-incarceration at the prison gate mirrors the opening and underscores the cyclical nature of his life.